Spent most of the day with my Aunt Jackie. She was moved from her rehab center to hospice care in her own apartment in her retirement home. Because of the strain of everything and the move she was so very grouchy. She'd be embarrassed if she knew I were writing this out. She often apologizes when she realizes how she's behaving. She honestly can't help herself. It is just how her anxiety manifests itself. But really she is most wonderfully imperious and absolutely withering in her tart criticisms. I wish I were a playwright, I would create a character who talked that way. I have to hold in a belly laugh the whole time even as I sheepishly go about doing her commands. If I didn't find it so deeply humorous, I would be a puddle on the floor unable to bear up under the stabs of her lightning sharp barbs.
But once she settled into her own bedroom, with her own books about her and her paintings and her beloved radio (where she listens to her beloved NPR) she relaxed. I made her a cup of tea and we had a nice chat. I know she's got everything wrong with her and she is going to fade over the course of the next few weeks (or so it is supposed; but she is tough! Really tough! It might take longer than we all suppose), but I felt really appreciative of having her in my life. She's a wonderful conversationalist. Do they make those any more? And she is such a wealth of history and she loves books so much. She is one of the easiest people in the world to talk to. I am really going to miss her. And now I have gone from laughing heartily to brimming with tears.
I am praying for your aunt and for you. She sounds like an irreplaceable person to have around. My husband's grandmother was a bit like that. I loved her so much.
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